Odyssey Of The Mind Team Advances To States

Pictured above are members of the Odyssey Of The Mind who participated in the competition. On Saturday, March 17, students from Mc- Connellsburg HIgh School traveled to Hollidaysburg to compete in the West Central Region Odyssey of the Mind tournament. The team placed first in its division and was honored with the prestigious Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem, the long-term problem and present their solution to the problem at a competition. They must also generate spontaneous solutions to a problem they have not seen before; this is the spontaneous competition.

The team placed first in (III) and problem category. The judges and audience loved their performance, and the team received many compliments about its creativity, use of song and rhyme, unique costumes, and the appearance of a “man in a bubble.”

The team was elated when it was selected to receive the honorary Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award. The Ranatra Fusca Award recognizes creativity either through some aspect of the problem/ solution, or an extraordinary idea beyond the problem/solution. This award represents the essence of the Odyssey of the Mind program. The Ranatra Fusca Award is given to teams that display exceptional creativity at competitions. The award acknowledges and encourages creative thinking and risk-taking.

The team will advance to the state tournament to be held at the Poconos, in Swiftwater, Pa., on April 14.